Dark Side
by angelsinstead
Summary: Marty and her parents move into their new home and discover they are not alone. Someone or some THING lurks in the darkness.
1. There's a Place

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This story is loosely based off several characters from the hit soap One Life to Live.

Also, I'd like to note that I do not own ABC's One Life to Live or the characters and I will NOT be receiving any payment whatsoever for writing this story. It is intended for entertainment purposes only.

This story is AU with a supernatural twist.

~*~Chapter One : There's a Place~*~

When she was seven years old, her parents had almost drowned in a boating accident. Marty Saybrooke had always considered herself lucky that her mom and dad had survived that fateful day and that she still had her family. When she was seventeen, the Saybrookes left their home in Boston and traveled to Llanview, Pennsylvania. Her parents had purchased a 12 bedroom Victorian mansion in a wealthy neighborhood. Her father was opening a psychiatric practice in their home, and her mother was three months pregnant with Marty's little brother or sister. It was a new life and a new adventure. Marty couldn't wait to make some new friends.

They hadn't been in their new home long when the doorbell rang, and there stood a teenage boy. "Hi, I am Jason Webb," he said. "I'm your new neighbor."

"I'm Margaret Anne Saybrooke, but everyone calls me Marty," she told him. "Why don't you come in?"

"I don't know if I should," said Jason as he stood on the porch steps and smiled at her sheepishly. "I always said I'd never step foot in THAT house, not after what happened..."

"Why? What are you talking about?" Marty asked.

"You mean you don't know?" Jason responded.

"Don't know what?"

"You're living in the Murder House!" Jason informed her. "Everyone who lived there before died violently!"

Marty's eyes were huge as she heard Jason's explanation. Murder house? "What? People were killed in our house?" she asked in surprise.

"Yeah... a LOT of people," Jason replied. "I can't believe you didn't know that."

"The Realtor must not have told my dad. At least he didn't mention it," Marty stated.

"Well, it happened. And I thought you should know. Anyway, I have to be going."

"Wait!" Marty called out. "Will I see you again?"

"Sure," Jason said as he turned back and gave her a smile. "I'll see you tomorrow at school."

Marty smiled too and then she closed the door. She had made a new friend. Life in Llanview, Pennsylvania wouldn't be so bad ... except they were living in a Murder House.

Marty went into the parlor to question her dad about what Jason had said. "Who was at the door, sweetie?" Dr. Marshall Saybrooke asked his teenage daughter.

"The boy next door. He says we are living in a Murder House."

"Don't worry about that, Marty. Those things happened a long time ago. We are living here now ... and I am setting up my new psychiatric practice in the library. Your mother and I are happy and we'll soon be having a new baby to love. This is OUR home ... and although tragic events happened here in the past, that doesn't mean this home can't be happy."

"Alright, Dad. I just feel uneasy; knowing that someone was murdered here in the house we live in."

"Don't worry about it, dear. You're starting school tomorrow and you'll be making tons of new friends. You won't have time to worry about past events," Marshall said with a smile.

"Okay. I won't worry," Marty said as she kissed her father's cheek. "I am going on up to my room now. I am not quite finished decorating."

"I am glad you like your room, Marty. I think it's the best room of the house."

Marty hurried up the tall, wooden staircase after leaving the parlor. She walked down a long, narrow hall until she reached her room with the dozens of picture windows. It was the best room of the whole house and she loved it with all her heart. "This is my room and I am happy here. This is the best place ever!" she exclaimed as she lay back on her bed.

There in the darkness, lurking in the shadows, stood a figure. He was watching quietly and waiting. Now that she was here, he would never be alone. She had filled the rooms with light once again. And she was everything he had ever wanted.


	2. It's Not Pretty

**~*~Chapter Two : It's Not Pretty~*~ **

Marty arrived home from school to find that her mom had just baked a pan of brownies. They were still steaming from the oven when Marty deftly stole one. "It's alright, Marty. Just help yourself," Samantha Saybrooke said with a laugh. "How was your first day of school?"

"It was good," Marty responded as she nibbled on the brownie. "I met a few new friends."

"That's great," said Samantha as she placed the pan of brownies on the counter to cool.

"Yeah, the boy next door Jason introduced me to a few of his friends. There's this one girl Megan; she seems really nice," Marty answered. "I have a lot of homework, Mom. So I think I will go upstairs and get started."

"Alright, dear. I'll see you at dinner."

Marty left the kitchen and started down the hallway. She walked right passed the library on her way to the staircase. To her surprise, she found that her dad was busy talking with one of his new patients - a teenage boy of about her age. As she glanced at young man sitting in the chair near the fireplace, speaking to her father, Marty suddenly froze in her tracks. The door was slightly ajar, so she could hear everything.

"So, tell me about these fantasies you've been having?" prompted Dr. Saybrooke.

"Sometimes I think about doing things. Really, really BAD things..."

"Please be more specific. Are we talking about violent tendencies?"

The young man nodded. "Sometimes I have a knife... and I hurt people..."

"Who are these people? And why are you hurting them?"

"I fantasize about taking a knife to school... and killing people with it," he answered. "The people who were bullying me. I don't like anyone to bully me."

"Do you get bullied a lot?" asked Dr. Saybrooke.

"I used to... but not anymore..." he said as he suddenly made eye contact with Marty.

There was something about his eyes. They sparkled with a strange amber light and they kept Marty frozen in her tracks. She couldn't move. She just kept listening as he spoke to her father.

"I need you to help me," he begged Dr. Saybrooke. "If you don't help me, I know someone's gonna get hurt."

Before her dad could respond, Marty suddenly turned and walked away. She rushed down the hallway and hurried upstairs to her bedroom. She went inside and quickly closed the door behind her.

As she turned to approach her bed, suddenly she ran into something solid. A chest. She was pressed up against his chest.

"Don't be scared," he said as he stared into her eyes.


	3. I'll Show It To You Now

**~*~Chapter Three : I'll Show It to You Now~*~ **

She stared into his eyes - those hypnotic hazel depths with the strange amber glow. "Who are you?" she demanded. "And how did you get into my bedroom?"

She shuddered as she pulled away from his chest. "You were just downstairs, talking to my father. How did you get into my bedroom?"

"Did you hear what I said?" he asked, completely ignoring her questions. "I think you heard me... and I'm sorry. I'm truly not all that bad."

"Yes, I heard everything. You said you wanted to - to hurt people."

"Yes, I said those things, but it doesn't matter. I really am a good guy; I just had a lot of bad stuff happen to me."

"What happened?"

He shrugged. "I don't want to talk about it. Right now what I really need is a friend. I'm lonely. Will you be my friend?"

"I don't even know your name," Marty said with a heavy sigh, still uneasy about finding him in her bedroom. "You better go. My dad won't like it if you're here... in my bedroom."

"I will go, but I won't be far. By the way, my name is Todd."

"If you ever need me, I'll be there," he offered. "You only have to call out for me, and I'll come. I promise."

"My name is Marty... and you better go..."

"Alright, I am leaving, Marty. I'm sorry I scared you."

He brushed passed her and headed toward the door. Watching him go with confusion, Marty had so many questions. Who was Todd really? And how did he get into her room?


	4. Run Away

**~*~Chapter Four : Run Away~*~**

The next day at school, Marty's new friends, Megan and Jason were talking about the 'murder house.' "Why do you call it that?" Marty questioned with a frown. She didn't want the beautiful Victorian Mansion her family now owned and was growing to love to be known as something so grisly.

"A lot of people died there. I can't believe you actually LIVE there!" Megan gasped as she sat at a table in the cafeteria with Marty and Jason having lunch. They were having baked beans and hot dogs and Marty could barely stomach the school cafeteria's so-called food.

"They say the place is haunted," Jason stated.

"What exactly happened there?" Marty asked.

"A guy went crazy and murdered his whole family," Jason told Marty.

"And that isn't all!" Megan exclaimed.

"Yeah, you should really go to the library and get information on what happened within your house," Jason urged.

"Maybe I'll stop by the library after school," Marty replied. "I'm intrigued... and want to know exactly what happened in my house."

"Want me to go with you?" Jason asked.

"No, if I have any trouble finding the information, I'll ask the librarian."

~*~o~*~

After leaving school that day, Marty stopped by the Llanview Public Library and found a book written on the history of her house. "Didn't your parents just buy that house?" the librarian asked Marty when she took the book up to the front to have it checked out.

"Yes," Marty replied. "I hear it has quite a history."

"Yeah, you're going to be stunned when you read that book," the librarian stated as she stared at Marty in concern. There was no way she'd ever live within those tainted walls - not after all the evil and violence that had taken place there.

"My friends said the house is haunted," Marty commented as the librarian scanned the book, then handed it back to Marty.

The librarian shuddered. "One never knows," she said mysteriously. Marty said nothing as she walked away carrying the book.

~*~o~*~

Marty lugged the heavy, leather-bound book up to her bedroom. She didn't want her parents to see it and become upset that she was researching their home and the previous owners. Her dad had said that the house was fine and that she shouldn't be worried. Marty didn't want to upset her mom either, considering she had just discovered she was pregnant with twins.

Sitting down on her bed, Marty opened the book to a random page. To her shock and surprise, she came upon a page of pictures. "Ohhh my God!" she gasped when she recognized Todd, her father's new patient in a few of the photos.

According to the book, Todd and his parents Peter and Barbara Manning, also known as Bitsy Manning were the most recent owners of the home before Marty's parents had purchased it. _'When the Mannings arrived in the home located at 1177 Lincoln Street, the residents of Llanview, Pennsylvania experienced horror unlike anything they had ever known...' _Marty read.

Staring into Todd's eyes within the photos, Marty felt weak. Realizing that he too had lived within the "Murder House" made her want to run away. The urge to throw the book across the room and run out of the room suddenly assaulted her. As her heart pounded wildly in her chest, Marty dropped the offending book to the floor.


	5. Stay

**~*~Chapter Five : Stay~*~**

"You shouldn't have done that, Marty," a voice said. "You shouldn't have looked into the past."

Marty looked up to see Todd standing there, staring at the book she had tossed upon the floor. "Wh- what are you doing here?" she asked fearfully. "How did you get in my bedroom?"

"There's nothing to be gained from the past and all it's pain and loss," Todd spoke as he totally ignored her questions.

"What happened here?" Marty asked him sadly. "What happened in this house?"

"My family died. Something awful happened."

"Ohhhh my God," Marty gasped. "Your family died. But ... but you're alright?"

"Yeah, I will be fine," Todd replied. "And so will you. I am going to protect you, Marty."

"From what?" she asked him breathlessly.

"Them. The ones who are here who want to hurt you."

"Someone wants to hurt me?"

Todd nodded. "They don't want you to go. They want you to stay here forever."

Marty got chills when she heard Todd's words. Were they watching her now? Who were they?

"What about you, Todd? What do YOU want?" Marty asked.

"You. I only want you," he responded. "I want you to stay."

Staring into Todd's eyes, a shiver shook her from head to toe. He reached out, lightly caressing her cheek. She forgot to breathe as he touched her with infinite tenderness. In the sweetness of that moment, Marty never wanted to leave.


	6. It hurts

**~*~Chapter Six : It Hurts~*~**

After Todd disappeared as quickly as he had materialized, Marty sat down to read the book. She began reading about Todd's family, the Mannings, and everything that had occurred in the house at 1177 Lincoln Street. According to the book, Peter Manning, Todd's father had gone into a fit of rage and had killed his wife when she threatened to expose that he was pedophile. Peter Manning had defiled and murdered many children in the family's basement. Unbeknownst to some, Peter had always been abusive to his wife and his son Todd. On that night when Peter killed his wife and brutally raped his son, Todd had retaliated by stabbing his father. Then, it was believed that Todd couldn't live with the loss of his mother and what he had done, so he slit his own throat with a knife. His body had been found in an upstairs bathroom.

Todd Manning had died in the house. According to the book, his bedroom had been Marty's. Marty sobbed when she came realize that the young man she was falling in love with was actually an apparition.

Hours passed, and Marty had fallen asleep reading the book. When she awakened in the middle of the night, there was someone lying in bed next her.

"Todd?" she whispered in the darkness.

"I am right here, Marty," he whispered in her ear.

"How can you be here?" she asked.

"I am always here," he stated. "This is MY room."

"And I want it to be yours, too," he told her. "Forever."

"I can't stay, Todd," she said sadly. "I don't belong here with you."

Todd stared into her gorgeous blue eyes as she began to cry. As her tears fell like shining diamonds on her cheeks, he had an incredible longing to kiss them all away. "Can you love me?" he asked in a voice barely above a whisper.

He took her hand into his. As their souls connected, the sensation of his touch felt ever-so-real. Gently he kissed each and every one of her fingertips as she shuddered.

"You don't want me because of what I did," he spoke in a broken voice.

"No, Todd. That isn't it. I can't blame you for what happened," she said as she gazed at him with tenderness. "But you are a spirit... and I am alive... and we don't belong together."

"I guess you are right," she heard him murmur.

Then he faded away into the darkness as though he had never been there at all.


	7. Push You Out

**~*~Chapter Seven : Push You Out~*~ **

Marty awoke the next day feeling miserable. She headed toward the bathroom to take a shower. She had just stripped off her clothes and was approaching the shower stall when she walked in front of the full-length mirror. The image she saw made her stop in her tracks. "Ohhh my God!" she gasped. It was not her own reflection staring back at her, but that of Todd with his throat slashed. Blood oozed out of the huge gash upon his neck.

"Todd, no!" Marty sobbed. She backed away as a scream tore from her throat.

"Get out of the house, Marty," she heard a voice whisper.

Recognizing the voice as Todd's, Marty was shaken. She wrapped up in her robe and rushed into the hallway. "What's the matter, dear?" asked Samantha when she saw her daughter run out of the bathroom.

"It's nothing, Mom. I just saw a... a spider."

"A spider? A spider has you this upset?" Samantha asked as she placed a hand on Marty's shoulder. "Honey, what is it? You're trembling."

"It- it's nothing. I just... need some time alone."

Marty turned on her heel and headed back into her bedroom. "You can't do this, Todd. You can't scare me away," she called out into the empty room.

"You have to go," he spoke as a thin image of him appeared in front of the window seat.

"Why?"

"Because it's not safe for you here. We don't belong together... like you said."

"I was wrong about that, Todd. Our connection is too strong. I- I love you... and I don't want to leave you."

"You love me?" he said in disbelief. Tears glowed in his eyes.

She watched in amazement as he took on solid form. Suddenly he reached for her and tugged her into his arms. The bond between them was so strong that she could feel the sensation of his touch. A sob escaped him as he cradled her head against his chest.

"It's going to be alright, Todd," she told him as she blinked back her tears.

"Marty, what's going on?" a voice called out beyond the door. "Who are you talking to?"

"That's my dad," Marty whispered.

Marty pulled out of Todd's embrace just as the door opened. Dr. Marshall Saybrooke stepped into the room. "I heard voices. Was someone in your room?" he asked as he looked around expectantly.

"No one was here," Marty denied.

"It sounded like that teenage boy, Todd Manning... the troubled boy. You aren't seeing him, are you, Marty?" her father asked.

"No, Dad," she lied.

"Good," said Marty's father. "Because that boy is dangerous."


	8. Who I Really Am

**~*~Chapter Eight : Who I Really Am~*~**

One night as Marty slept peacefully in her bed, she awakened to find a strange, deathly-white figure hovering over her bed. She gasped in fear as he reached out to her with his cold, pasty-white hands. "Who are you... and what are you doing in my bedroom?" she demanded.

He blew his cold breath over her body as her blankets were swept away. She was left nearly nude in just her pale, thin nightgown. Her nipples grew hard as a cool breeze settled over her exposed flesh. Who was he? And why was he staring at her so lustfully?

"Todd!" Marty called out in fear.

"So, you are my son's little girlfriend?" spoke the apparition.

"You look so young and tasty. You know I wanna fuck you. I love to fuck young, innocent girls," he stated. "I fuck them brutally until they die!"

Marty let out a shrill scream because she knew who this ghost was standing over her bed. She suddenly recognized him from those frightening pictures in the book she had gotten from the library. He was Peter Manning, Todd's father. He was the monstrous pedophile who had killed Todd's mother and all those innocent children in the basement.

Marty started to cry. "Please don't - don't hurt me," she begged.

Suddenly Todd appeared at the end of the bed. "Marty, I won't let him hurt you," Todd spoke. "Tell him to go away. Scream it at him... and he'll disappear."

Marty looked from Todd to the frightening image of his father. He was leering at her as though she were a juicy steak he longed to devour. "Go away! I hate you!" Marty spat at him. In a matter of moments, Peter Manning's disgusting face had faded into nothingness. Marty was all alone with Todd.

"Are you okay, baby? Did he hurt you?" Todd asked as he came around to the side of the bed and took her into his embrace. She held him tightly as she wet his flesh with her tears.

"How can I feel you, Todd... if you are ghost?" she whispered to him as she pressed her face against his chest.

"You can feel me because we are connected. You're mine, Marty. I love you... and I will never let anyone hurt you," he swore.

"You saved me from your father," she said as she trembled in his arms. "You have a good side... that's who you REALLY are. You'd never hurt anyone... on purpose. You're not just the monster everyone made you out to be. You're not just your dark side."

"Can you love me? Even with my dark side?" he asked. "Marty, I've hurt people. I did terrible things for my father. Not because I wanted to... but because he forced me. I am not such a wonderful guy. There's a demon lurking inside me... and sometimes he does bad things..."

"I am a sum of my good deeds as well as my bad ones. Please baby, say you can love me despite of it all," Todd pleaded.

"I love you, Todd... and I think we are worth it... but what future could we really have? We can't be together. You're a ghost... and I - I am alive," she reminded. "I am flesh and blood."

With a sad expression on his face, Todd began to fade. "It's hopeless," she heard him whisper. Then in the space of a heartbeat, Todd was gone.


	9. Don't Give Up on Me

**~*~Chapter Nine : Don't Give Up on Me~*~**

Two months had passed and Marty had not seen Todd. She hadn't felt his presence since that fateful night when Peter Manning had appeared next to her bed. It broke her heart. Todd may have saved her from the apparitions in the house, but in the same process, he'd made the heart-wrenching decision to disappear. The house stood still and quiet ever since Todd vanquished Peter.

Marty hoped that Todd was at peace. The sorrow she had seen in his eyes continued to tug at her heart. She couldn't help but wish that things could be different and somehow she and Todd could have a chance together. Knowing that wasn't possible, she had no other choice but to move on with her life.

One day Marty talked Jason into coming over and studying with her. She stood in the kitchen, baking a pizza. It was cooking in the oven when the doorbell rang.

Marty rushed to the back door and opened it, inviting Jason inside. She gave him a smile. "I am making us a yummy snack for our study session," she told him as she lead him into the kitchen.

"Something smells like pizza," he said with a grin. "I love pizza."

"That's great," Marty said. "Because I made plenty for the both of us."

The timer on the oven rang, and Marty withdrew the pizza. She placed the slices onto two plates. She and Jason grabbed a couple of root beers from the fridge and proceeded to head up to Marty's room.

"I've never studied with a guy in my bedroom before," Marty giggled as they made their way up the staircase while carrying the plates of pizza.

"There's a first time for everything," Jason said. A devilish smirk settled on his features.

Marty opened the door to her bedroom and suddenly let out a horrified cry. Her room was in shambles. The bed was tore apart; it's mattress hanging half-way off it's frame. All of her clothes had been tossed out of the closet and the dresser drawers had been dilapidated. There wasn't one single inch of her bedroom that hadn't been destroyed.

"What the hell!" Jason said with huge eyes. "Your bedroom looks like a cyclone hit!"

Marty slammed her bedroom door shut so Jason could no longer see it. As she stood in the hallway with him, she was shaking her head in disbelief. "I- I didn't do that, Jason. I swear."

"Who did it then?" he demanded.

*Todd,* she was thinking but she didn't say a word. Todd had done it.

When Marty didn't answer, Jason got scared. He set his plate of pizza and the cold can of soda aside. "So you're telling me that some freakin' ghost came in here and ripped apart your room?" asked Jason.

Marty nodded as tears filled up her eyes. "You were right, Jason. My house is haunted," she said in an almost-whisper.

"I can't believe it! This is crazy! I'm getting the hell out of here!" He turned on his heel and headed down the hall toward the staircase. He nearly ran from the house, screaming in terror.

"Todd!" Marty cried out as she burst back into her bedroom. To her utter shock, everything was neat and clean. Every single item was back in it's place. Her room looked absolutely perfect; as if the incident had never occurred.

"I know you did this, Todd. I KNOW it was you!" Marty yelled out into the empty room.

A faint image of him appeared near the window seat and Marty asked, "Why did you do it, Todd?"

"You can't give up on me," he suddenly whispered as if his voice came from behind her. "You're mine, Marty."

Marty could feel the distinct sensation of his breath as it moved against her ear. She shuddered in horror. She realized it was true.


	10. Will You Love Me?

**~*~Chapter Ten : Will You Love Me~*~**

Faint light spilled upon the page as Marty sat in the window-seat, writing in her journal. Tears swam in her eyes as she scrawled out these words:

_I finally realized something and it is breaking my heart. I'm in love with a ghost. Todd is a ghost. He's only an apparition. He's not a man. He cannot kiss me or make love to me. It hurts, because I am destined to be alone._

She put her pencil aside and lay her journal down on her desk. With tears streaming from her eyes, Marty crawled into bed. "Good night," she whispered into the darkness before her tears lessened and she finally drifted off to sleep.

While she was lay upon the bed, her blanket was slowly tugged away. Her body was uncovered as something hot moved across her cheek. She stirred slightly as she felt his lips upon her cheek and his gentle caress upon her breasts.

"Todd," she spoke in a feverish moan.

"It's me," he responded as he sunk down on the bed next to her. "And you were wrong."

His lips settled over hers in a hungry kiss. Suddenly Marty was wide awake. "Make love to me, Todd," she pleaded when her lips finally broke away from his. "Please Todd, will you love me?"

His hand slid up her leg to cup her feminine mound. She was wet and hot and ready for his entry. Suddenly he froze. "I can't," he muttered.

"What do you mean - you can't?!"

"If I make love to you, there could be terrible consequences."

"We can never be together?"

"I'm sorry, but we can't. Marty, I must go, and I can never come back," Todd stated.

He gave her one last tender, apologetic kiss, then he was gone. Clutching her hand against her heart, Marty felt intense physical pain. "Without you, I have nothing..." she whispered.


End file.
